Tribeca Film Festival announces first half of its lineup

Forty-three world premieres, including the animated "Nerdland," join heavy-hitters like "High-Rise" and the Kristen Stewart-starring "Equals."

The animated "Nerdland" features the voices of Patton Oswalt and Paul Rudd.

Tribeca

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The Tribeca Film Festival has come into its own since it began in 2002, eking out space as a launchpad for first-time filmmakers and, especially, documentaries. This year’s installment doesn’t begin until April 13, but they just announced the first half of its feature-length lineup.

The fest previously announced Andrew Rossi’s “The First Monday in May,” a doc about fashion as art, as its opening night film. It will now be joined by 42 other world premieres, like “Contemporary Color,” about the Barclays Center and featuring St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado and Ad-Rock; “Kicks,” an indie about the search for stolen sneakers through the Bay Area; and “Nerdland,” an R-rated animated comedy featuring the voicework of Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt.

Also appearing will be the heavy-hitters “High-Rise,” Ben Wheatley’s (“Kill List,” “Sightseers”) star-studded take on J.G. Ballard’s satirical novel, and “Equals,” a sci-fi indie starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult. The latter will make its U.S. premiere at Tribeca.

The fest this year made a concerted effort to include work by female directors. A third of its line-up was helmed by women, including Mia Wasikowska (who contributed to the shorts anthology “Madly”) and Sophia Takal (“Always Shine”).